


Take On A New Direction

by Sokkas_First_Fangirl



Series: I Lay My Life Before You [18]
Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Queen (Band)
Genre: Alpha Brian, Alpha Roger Taylor (Queen), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Babies, Beta John Deacon, Childbirth, Difficult childbirth, Family Feels, Fluff, Froger Week, Froger Week 2019, Happy Ending, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Omega Freddie Mercury, Omega Verse, Pack Dynamics, Protective Roger Taylor (Queen)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-05
Updated: 2019-11-05
Packaged: 2021-01-23 16:04:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21322903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sokkas_First_Fangirl/pseuds/Sokkas_First_Fangirl
Summary: In one world, Freddie and Roger lost their son to medical malpractice. In this one, they didn't.Roger thought he was prepared to be a dad- and he is- but he wasn't prepared for the actual birth. And people say this is the easiest part! Clearly those people had never had to watch their boyfriend in agony, unable to do anything about it.But the end results are worth the anxiety...(A short spin-off of "Let The Feeling Grow" wherein Freddie and Roger don't lose their baby; that doesn't mean there's no drama involved.)
Relationships: Brian May & Freddie Mercury, Brian May & Roger Taylor, Freddie Mercury & Roger Taylor, Freddie Mercury/Roger Taylor, John Deacon & Brian May & Freddie Mercury & Roger Taylor, John Deacon & Freddie Mercury, John Deacon & Roger Taylor, John Deacon/Veronica Tetzlaff
Series: I Lay My Life Before You [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1256678
Comments: 24
Kudos: 82





	Take On A New Direction

**Author's Note:**

> This was for the Froger prompt of "Holding hands." Consider this as a thank you for all the support on Let The Feeling Grow. Everyone was so excited for little Peanut to be born, I almost changed the plot of the whole story. So here's a short glimpse to a timeline wherein Heydar lives.

**January 10th, London England, 1975** **  
** ** _“Keep holding on, ‘cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through. Just stay strong, ‘cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you. There's nothing you could say, nothing you could do, there's no other way when it comes to the truth; so keep holding on, ‘cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through.” -Keep Holding On, _ ** **Avril Lavigne**

Freddie woke around 3am, to a clenching and twisting feeling in his stomach, to a throbbing pain in the small of his back, growing up and out. For a moment, he was tempted to brush it off as more Braxton Hicks; God knew he’d had plenty of those, and freaked out at each one. It was a little over a month too early, another reason to try and brush it aside.

But the pain kept growing, and he had to bite down the inside of his cheek to keep from crying out. He dealt with it for maybe thirty minutes, waiting for it to die down. It didn’t.

He slapped Roger awake, biting back a whimper.

“Rog,” he said. “Roggie, I think I’m going into labour.”

“Okay,” Roger yawned, the bastard. His eyes were still closed. Then they snapped open as he sat up, gawping at Freddie. “Oh shit,” he said. “Oh _ shit. _”

“Yes, oh shit,” Freddie said, hands pressed on his stomach. 

He had to hand it to Roger, he snapped into action. He jumped out of bed, grabbing the hospital bag, fretting over its contents, triple-checking everything. Freddie was just happy he’d actually packed the bag two days ago; he nearly hadn’t. But those nesting instincts had given him a burst of energy; they’d been driving him mad, and he’d fussed over everything; he’d been rearranging Heydar’s room, their own room, he’d groomed each cat twice, he’d made his own little “nest” on their bed, and then he’d packed and repacked the hospital bag four times.

Roger insisted on helping Freddie into his jacket and trainers, and kept an arm around him all the way to the van. “Holy shit,” he kept muttering. “Holy shit.”

“Are you okay- _ ow! _ ” Fucking hell, weren’t contractions meant to be _ minor _ at first? And just like that, Freddie was terrified. Because he’d be reassured that contractions started out small, but he already felt awful, he felt like he could throw up with the pain. It was over a month early, that couldn’t be right. Fuck, it _ hurt. _

“Holy shit,” Roger muttered yet again, but he took one hand off the wheel to rest on Freddie’s stomach; Freddie immediately held on tightly. “You’re okay,” Roger said, eyes on the road, glasses on for once. “You’re both okay.” Freddie wasn’t quite sure if Roger was trying to reassure Freddie or himself. Maybe both.

Freddie didn’t even get to climb out of the van when they arrived: Roger was out of the van in a flash and lifted him out, the baby bag thrown over one shoulder.

“I can walk, darling,” Freddie said, laughing despite himself.

“Nope,” Roger said, which- _ okay, _fair enough, Freddie wasn’t in any position to argue right then.

The receptionists, bless them, didn’t look at all surprised. They’d likely seen stranger things.

“Yeah, hi,” Roger said abruptly. “Pretty sure my boyfriend’s in labour.”

“Regular contractions, lovie?” one of them asked Freddie. By then he was gritting his teeth, trying to keep quiet. He nodded, a strangled little noise escaping. Thankfully, they didn’t hang around; a wheelchair was found and they were brought to a private room.

It was one more thing Freddie was happy about, paying for a private room. He didn’t much fancy having even more strangers staring at him like this, or having to listen to someone else in labour. Sue him, but he wanted his privacy.

“You’re okay,” Roger said yet again. He brushed Freddie’s hair back, squeezing his hand. “It’s alright.”

“It’ll be a lot_ better _ when Heydar isn't crushing my insides, darling,” Freddie said, fighting back another groan.

That was when their midwife came in, a chubby Beta woman in her late forties with big pink glasses and slightly smeared lipstick. She smiled at them, introducing herself as Estelle Howard.

As usual, he hated being poked and prodded at, but Estelle nodded (seemingly to herself) before she said, “Three and a half centimeters, sweetie; it’s definitely not Braxton Hicks this time.”

“But- but it’s a month early!” Freddie protested, as if that would change things.

Estelle smiled ruefully. “Babies come when they want to,” she said. “You said the contractions are regular as well, right?”

“Right,” Freddie said. He felt dizzy. He’d honestly expected to be told it was another false alarm, just more Braxton Hicks. He’d expected to be told to go home. Apparently not. Apparently Heydar was tired of waiting around and wanted out.

_ My waters didn’t break, though, _ he thought, and just as he opened his mouth to ask about that, there was a sudden _ cramping _sensation, the worst contraction yet, and sure enough his waters broke- but to his horror, there was blood on his legs. A lot of it.

His instant thought was that he was having a miscarriage. 

“Oh Christ,” Roger gasped.

“No, no, it’s alright,” Estelle said quickly. “Some blood gets mixed with it sometimes, boys, it’s okay.” All the same, she checked Freddie over again. “It’s just the waters, and there’s a plug- that’s all, I promise.”

“Heydar’s okay then?” Freddie asked.

“He’s fine,” Estelle said, smiling. “And so are you.”

  
  
  
  


** _“I'm just the boy inside the man, not exactly who you think I am. Trying to trace my steps back here again, so many times. I'm just a speck inside your hand, you came and made me who I am; I remember where it all began, so clearly.” -Be Somebody, _ ** **Thousand Foot Krutch**

Roger had known labour could take an entire day, maybe even two. He’d known it wasn’t a fast process, but Freddie’s contractions had been so regular, he’d been in clear pain. Roger had assumed that meant this would be faster than expected.

No such luck. It slowed down, hours passed, and it seemed like nothing was happening. He’d hoped this would be smooth sailing; Freddie’s pregnancy had worn him out. He’d been in pain, and ill, and in a fit of despair he’d thrown all his medication away.

As it turns out, that was a good thing. Because Atwood hadn’t been available at their next appointment; her superior, Doctor Waters had come by to update freddie’s medication himself, and told them that Freddie shouldn’t have been taking...Well, any of what had been prescribed to him. It was all dangerous, it all ran the risk of miscarriage or birth defects. 

Roger had demanded they switch doctors there and then. Freddie had thrown one of the packets of pills in Atwood’s face. Roger had been tempted to throw a punch.

After all that, Roger had just desperately hoped the labour would be easy. Freddie was worn out, and Roger was constantly worried about him; he was worried Freddie wouldn’t have the strength or energy for this. He was worried that something would go wrong. The darkest corner of his mind screamed that Freddie and Heydar were going to die.

Freddie clung to Roger’s hand, going through his breathing exercises, tensing with each contraction. “Can’t I have any drugs or something?” he asked, eyes squeezed shut. “I could have sworn that was an option.”

“Not just yet, dear,” Estelle said apologetically. Roger had to give it to her, she seemed totally in control. She made small talk as she checked over her equipment, and Freddie.

“First one?” she asked. Freddie let out a little hiccuping sob, so it was up to Roger to answer.

“First one,” he confirmed. _ Help him! _ he wanted to scream. _ He’s in pain, he’s crying, help him! _

There was a hint of mischief in her eyes as she asked, overly-innocent, “You’re in _ Queen, _right?”

“That’s right.”

“Thought so. My two youngest are batty about your group.” 

Roger glanced at the clock; it had been nearly four when they arrived, and it was after seven now. He hated this. He wanted to speed it up, he wanted to magically take the pain away.

It just kept _ dragging, _ and Freddie already looked exhausted, slumped against Roger, and Roger was _ terrified. _Freddie was tiny, and worn out, how could he do this? How could this possibly be normal? 

Eventually, still gasping in pain, Freddie said, “Shouldn’t we call everyone?”

Meaning _ Roger _had to. 

“It’s okay,” Estelle said. “He’s in good hands.”

He’d be holding her to that.

Reluctantly, he let Freddie go, to go and make the necessary phone calls.

  
  
  
  


** _“And I've always lived like this, keeping a comfortable distance. And up until now, I had sworn to myself that I'm content with loneliness, because none of it was ever worth the risk. But you are the only exception.” -The Only Exception, _ ** **Paramore**

He’d expected everyone to want to wait until Heydar was actually _ here, _but his mum said “I’ll be right there,” and hung up before Roger could say anything else. The same went for Clare. Jer sounded like she was crying, but she also promised that she, Bomi and Kash would be there. Deacy gave a huge yelp, and immediately started asking if Freddie was okay, but he barely gave Roger any time to answer. He swore he’d be there in “twenty minutes, tops!” and hung up. Same with Brian; he swore loudly and said he’d be there soon.

Sure enough, they all arrived together, or close enough. Estelle asked Freddie if he’d like either of his parents in the room, if he wanted his mother. After a moment’s hesitation, Freddie shook his head. “They’ll just stress me out,” he said. Roger couldn’t argue with that.

And time just kept dragging. It was nine in the morning when Estelle finally announced that Freddie could push now.

“Oh, thank _ fuck, _” Freddie groaned. He grabbed Roger’s hand again, while Roger’s free arm wrapped around his shoulders. Their eyes met, and Freddie grinned at him. “Are you okay, darling?”

“I should be asking _ you _that, Fred!” Roger laughed. “I’m fine.” Not entirely true, he was a nervous wreck, but he wasn’t about to say so. “Now let’s get that baby out, yeah?”

  
  
  
  


People said that childbirth was the easiest part; it was what came after, having to actually raise the child that was the hard part.

_ Fuck that, _ Roger thought, because there was nothing harder than this; than having to watch Freddie screaming in pain, and knowing there as nothing he could do to make it better. Freddie squeezed his hand so tightly it felt like it was going to break; his hair was plastered to his face, tear tracks were drying on his cheeks, and Roger _ hated _ this. He hated knowing he couldn’t make it better. He hated that all he could do was hold Freddie’s hand, and babble meaningless words of comfort. He wanted to _ do _ something. He was used to protecting Freddie, that was what he _ did, _but he couldn’t now.

And then he felt sick with terror when Estelle said, “He’s breech, it’ll be safer if we do a C-section, Freddie.”

_ “What?” _ Freddie weakly lifted his head, obviously worn out, his voice was all choked and small. “Is he okay?”

“He’ll be fine,” Estelle said, but Roger wasn’t sure if he believed her. He wanted to, but suddenly he was so sure this was about to go all wrong, that he was about to watch his kid die, or Freddie die, or _ both. _And he couldn’t do anything about that either.

“Now, it’s up to you,” Estelle said, looking at them both. “But I’d recommend the C-section; it’ll be safer for the baby, and for you, Freddie.”

Freddie nodded, leaning back against Roger.

“They _ are _okay, aren’t they?” Roger asked. He felt like screaming, he felt like crying, but he just held onto Freddie, letting Freddie continue to crush his hand.

“They’ll be fine, Roger, I promise you.” Estelle’s voice was steady, her smile reassuring, but Roger wasn’t going to feel safe until Heydar was actually here, until he knew for sure that Freddie and Heydar had both made it out of this safely.

_ You won’t lose either of them, _he tried to tell himself as two more doctors came rushing in, because apparently they had to be moved to a whole other room for this, which was terrifying in itself. 

_ You won’t lose either of them, you won’t. _

Because how could he possibly lose either of them now? How could he go on as usual if they lost Heydar now? How could he be a single parent if he lost Freddie? How could he go on at all if he lost them both?

  
  
  
  


** _“Oh, you're the best friend that I ever had, I've been with you such a long time. You're my sunshine, and I want you to know that my feelings are true, I really love you, oh, you're my best friend. Ooh, you make me live.” -You’re My Best Friend, _ ** **Queen**

In the end, the C-section wasn’t as scary as he thought it would be. Roger made sure he didn’t look as they made the cut, because if he looked at those scissors for more than two seconds, he’d start screaming.

_ Threat! _ his instincts screamed. _ Threat, threat, threat, protect Freddie, protect him! _

But then Freddie’s grip on his hand tightened, and suddenly there was a baby crying.

“Oh,” Roger said quietly. “He’s here.”

_ Holy shit _didn’t cover it anymore. Awe didn’t even cover it. He could only stare as the doctors cleaned the bawling baby off, doing all the necessary checks. But they must have been happy with the results, because they wrapped him up and brought him over. Roger was dimly aware of two of the doctors attending to Freddie, but he could only stare at Heydar as he was laid in Freddie’s arms. 

He was even smaller than Roger had expected. Red-faced, screaming, with a thatch of black hair, and when he opened his eyes they were such a dark brown they were nearly black. And yet, he twisted about to press his face into Freddie’s chest; he kept crying, but he slowly quietened down.

“Oh wow,” Freddie murmured. He was crying himself, still flushed with exertion, his hair was a tangled, sweaty mess, but he was beaming, happier than Roger had ever seen him. “Oh God, Roggie, look at him.”

“He’s gorgeous,” Roger said. His eyes stung, he couldn’t stop his lip trembling, even when he smiled. Cautiously, he reached out to stroke Heydar’s hair. “He has your hair.”

“He looks more like you though,” Freddie said. The more Roger looked, the more it seemed that Freddie was right. Heydar had his nose, he wasn’t quite as tanned as Freddie, and although his eyes were dark, the shape was more like Roger’s own.

“Congratulations,” Estelle said. “What’s the little lad’s name?”

“Heydar Taylor,” Freddie said, eyes still glued to the baby. He’d stopped crying, and Roger thought he looked almost _ grumpy _about all the noise.

“Hey you,” Roger said quietly, as Heydar’s eyes went to him. “I’m your dad.”

  
  
  
  


It was utter mayhem when everyone was finally allowed in to see the baby. They’d put him in a little blue and yellow onesie, and a knitted blue hat, as well as wrapped him in the blanket that Bernie had bought them. Freddie was in a clean pair of pyjamas; he still looked exhausted, but whenever he looked at Heydar he _ glowed. _

Roger may have cried in the end. Quite a bit. But who could blame him?

Winifred and Jer took one look at the baby and burst into tears; so did Deacy. Veronica outright _ squealed. _She cradled her own bump, tears in her eyes. Bomi looked staggered, one hand pressed to his mouth. Kashmira clutched Jer’s arm, Clare leaned over Deacy to get a closer look, and Brian used his height to advantage, peering over the tops of everyone’s heads.

“Are you okay, baby?” Jer asked, smoothing Freddie’s hair back.

“Exhausted,” Freddie said, and he sure sounded it. He winced whenever he moved; as their friends and family took their turns sitting on the edge of the bed to hold the baby, he winced whenever they jostled him, biting his lip to keep quiet.

Heydar was good as gold, letting everyone take their turn holding him; he blinked up at them all, yawning, only crying when he was hungry.

“All of you bugger off,” Freddie said. He made shooing motions with his hands, while Roger held Heydar. “You can come back in when he’s fed.”

“Diva,” Kash muttered, but they all did as they were told. To be fair, Freddie wouldn’t even let _ Roger _look, much to Estelle’s amusement: he was under strict instructions to face the wall.

“Again, Fred,” Roger said, looking at the wall. “I’ve seen you naked. I just watched you give birth. I _ knocked you up _to begin with.”

“Eyes on the wall, Blondie.”

Estelle giggled, and Roger grinned despite himself. He couldn’t help but smile, he couldn’t seem to stop. Because holy shit, Freddie was feeding their baby, they _ had a baby, _they had a little boy, and Roger didn’t think he’d ever been happier.

  
  
  
  


** _“I stretched my hands out to the sky, we danced with monsters through the night. (Woah-oh, woah-oh.) I'm never gonna look back, woah, I’m never gonna give it up, no, please don't wake me now. This is gonna be the best day of my life.” -Best Day Of My Life, _ ** **American Authors**

Two in the morning, and Heydar had once more woken up for feeding. For such a little guy, he sure had one hell of a set of lungs on him. But once he was fed, he was quiet, lying contentedly in Freddie’s arms.

Freddie though, was starting to nod off again, drooping, his head on Roger’s shoulder.

“Here, I’ll take him,” Roger said. He gently lifted Heydar, letting the baby rest against his chest. Freddie hummed gratefully, and was soon fast asleep, still lying against Roger.

And Roger sat there in the sudden quiet, letting the events of the day wash over him. They had a baby. Heydar was right there, a solid weight in his arms. His big dark eyes regarded Roger almost solemnly. Newborn or not, Roger was certain that Heydar knew who they were.

“I’ve got something really important to tell you,” Roger whispered to him. He tilted Heydar further towards Freddie, so that Freddie was once more in the baby’s line of sight. “See your papa? He worked really hard to get you here, Peanut. He’s…” He felt totally overawed, so much so that he wondered if he could get the words out. But he had to. Regardless if Heydar could understand or not, he had to. “He’s amazing. Utterly brilliant. Your papa’s the best, kindest, bravest person I know. You’ll see what I mean when you’re older, I promise. We both love you so much, and we’re _ so _happy you’re here. I might muck this up, I have no idea what I’m doing, but I swear it’s like your papa can read your mind to know what you’re looking for. So here’s the main rule: you behave for him, yeah? And I’ll look after both of you.”

Heydar blinked at him and yawned. Roger would take that as agreement.

“We’ll be okay,” he whispered, to Heydar, to Freddie, to himself. “We’ll be great.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
** _“So let my life be the proof of your love, let my love look like you and what you’re made of. How you lived, how you died, love is sacrifice. So let my life be the proof, the proof of your love.” -The Proof Of Your Love, _ ** **For King And Country**

**Author's Note:**

> Trust me when I say that, had I gone this route, Freddie would have ended up with some sort of infection or fever; births are never easy for him. In this case, it would have been dangerous after the fact, rather than during.
> 
> Anyway, happy Froger Week lads! 💕


End file.
